Visitors can see where Titus Andronicus was staged, while archaeologists get ready to dig out the third of the playhouse still buried.
The Rose Playhouse on Park Street in Southwark has reopened to visitors. It had been closed for six years while work went on in and around the building that sits above it. Specialist guided tours will now run every week.
The tours take people down to the remains of the theatre. Shakespeare’s first tragedy, Titus Andronicus, was performed on this stage. Audiences there also saw two plays by Christopher Marlowe, Tamburlaine the Great and Doctor Faustus. The archaeological remains are a Scheduled Monument, which gives them legal protection.
Site manager Pepe Pryke has been involved in keeping the Rose going since the beginning, and he welcomed the first visitors back through the door. Huge steel girders carry the weight of the building overhead. If that building ever came down, the Playhouse would stay standing.
Only two-thirds of the Playhouse has been uncovered so far. Archaeologists from the London Museum will now search for the rest. They will look for the theatre’s 14-sided walls and record any objects linked to its life as a playhouse.
The site has already turned up leather shoes and parts of a banister. An inscribed ring was also found, and it was probably used as a prop.
Theatre performances and Sonic Walks are also planned at the Rose. On special days, well-known Shakespearean actors who have backed the project will come along to show their support. The money raised goes towards the £2m still needed to finish the work.
The site is run by the Rose Theatre Trust at 56 Park Street, London SE1 9AR. Upcoming events are listed on the Rose Playhouse website.
At 56 Park Street, London SE1 9AR. It is run by the Rose Theatre Trust.
Yes. It has reopened with specialist guided tours every week, and upcoming events are listed on its website.
Shakespeare's first tragedy, Titus Andronicus, was performed there. Two Christopher Marlowe plays, Tamburlaine the Great and Doctor Faustus, were also put on at the Rose.
£2m to complete the work.
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